From tomorrow, people in the U.K. (so most of us) will not be able to access porn online without going through some form of age verification.
I’ve seen that some websites, like Reddit, have already implemented some measures and you can’t see any NSFW material until you’ve verified your age. OFCOM have said that thousands of companies have committed to bringing this in.
It’s obviously a measure to stop minors from viewing content they shouldn’t have access to. I don’t think it’ll work, but that’s another story.
The sceptic in me thinks I probably won’t do it due to worries about data, but the porn lover in me will probably win the battle. (My brain down below unfortunately does win more often than I care to admit.)
What are you guys’ thought on the new security measures and are you going to do it?
This has occured in some areas of the US as well. Not yet in Canada.
I agree measures are needed to protect minors from accessing adult material however I don’t feel it should be the government’s business to parent minors and restrict access to adults with having to provide personal info to do so.
I feel it’s a parent’s job to monitor their kids internet use and take measures to block access to adult material on their children’s devices. Are there still not software/apps to do this?
I tend to agree, and I have pretty strict controls on my kids use of the internet and their devices. However, parents can’t be around all the time - and kids will be kids (and will try and see stuff theyre not meant to see). So I for one think these measures will at least act as another wall of protection for most kids. I know from experience, that even tho I have things like YouTube limited - my older kid has still managed to come across content not appropriate for him - so any extra will help.
Also some parents just don’t care, or don’t have the attention to see what they’re kids are up to - so st least this measure might protect them for a little while longer.
I remember searching around in my dads cupbaords for porn mags as a kid…it was a lot more complicated to view that kind of content then…
Like with most things, it depends on how it’s done. If it’s as simple as adding a DOB then it won’t stop a thing, if it’s adding credit card details then I personally see it killing viewer numbers. There’s enough dodgy ads on sites that will quite happily find a way of accessing personal data.
I love porn, but it is too easily accessible for minors. I won’t be handing over my credit card to watch it though. I’ll just have to rely on my imagination, I guess. I also used to sneak a look at my dad’s porn mags, when I was young. But they were pretty tame compared to the things kids can are exposed to now. So I can see a need for age verification. I just wish it didn’t affect me.
Well, I just checked xhamster and pornhub. They don’t require ID, but want you to register an account with a user name and password. How does that stop youngsters from lying about their age and joining up? I won’t be doing it though.
I did however have to ‘register’ my id/face for Reddit as I use my phone for that and having it on VPN caused a lot of issues (banking/apps)
Considering the content I post on Reddit too it’s a bold move, but eventually I see most the world having to do and what’s a couple NSFW pictures on the internet
I only watch porn becauase I haven’t the real thing and I keep hoping and praying for the real thing to come along someday.. Until it does Im stuck with porn so it will be a tad annoying if I cant access it, but over the years Ive downloaded a few 100gb’s of porn(thats under lock and key with hidden folders so to keep my devices clean if a family member uses them), plus I use “Browsee” a free VPN extension for firefox.. So Im not exactly screwed until a woman comes my way.
I have seen information about this coming in and assumed it didn’t really affect me as I don’t access adult sites.
However I have an account on a site called Reddit, which is like a short forum type of social media. One of the groups I belong to is an educational resource regarding circumcisions, and I have found myself blocked from looking even at my own posts or likes & comments people have sent to me unless I upload my driving licence to some portal or other.
How do I know this is a secure thing to do and my details are safe ?
It’s a shame that it has come to this. Also I feel like the verification sites are now going to be prime targets for hackers. It’s got the Ashley Maddison scandal written all over it. I’ve no problem with my wife knowing I watch porn, we do it together, I’d be more worried about credit card info and things like that being stolen through hacks.
Get a decent VPN (you will have to pay for it). You can set your country accesspoint to whatever country has not implemented laws that limit website access.
Honestly, everyone should be using a VPN. This wont stop anyone accessing adult content - young people are tech natives and will bypass this with ease. It’s a pointless law with zero upside.
I cannot see the government ever successfully banning VPNs. VPN use is critical to almost every major corporate company for security reasons. VPNs work even in states with even greater internet censorship.
I would never, ever upload any personal information, ID, creditcard info etc to any of these websites to prove my age. I would advise everyone else against it too. These websites will be compromised by malicious 3rd parties, its not a matter of if, its a matter of when.
